Police say the van was later seen selling Christmas trees in the town.

Shop worker Saqib Shabbir, 33, said: "I don't know how somebody could do this so close to Christmas - it is heart breaking," the Sun reported.

"My biggest worry is our loyal customers who buy trees from us every year may not be able to do that this Christmas, and could be left without a tree," he said.

Detective Constable Trudy Lindsey said in a statement: "The shop owners were devastated to discover that 190 of their Christmas trees had been stolen. This is their livelihood and the offenders selfishly put their business in jeopardy."